The Assault on f7 - Part 1

I aim to do a few things in this series. I want to clarify my own thinking as I explore the Italian openings, and writing what I learn helps me to do that. I also think it would be instructive for others to see this kind of thing broken down visually, on a basic level. We'll be going from the simple to the complex, all with one aim: the assault on f7!

(My sources will be listed below.)

Most of us beginners don't know much about openings, and we don't know what to do when (if) we survive the opening phase. Attacking f7 provides a simple solution to this. It's defended only by the king, at first, so if you can get two pieces attacking it quickly, it can prove deadly. So why not use this idea as your opening??

This is Scholar's Mate, of course. It works once or twice, but out of frustration and a sense of outrage, Black will work on refining his or her defense:

Okay, that didn't work so well. But Black is ambitious, a fighter, and has another idea.

So Black needs to find another way to defend the pawn on e5, as well as protect the vulnerable f7 point. How do we do this without closing our position up with, for instance, 2...e6 and then 3...Qe7?

And now, if White wants to continue the assault on f7, he or she has to take a different tack. The adventure continues in Part 2!

For this series, I've draw on "Learn Chess, A Complete Course" by Alexander and Beach, as well as "Chess Openings" by Basman.